A Traditional Spring Wedding

This past weekend I was invited to an ancient Sardinian wedding tradition held high up in the hills of Fiminaltu. Actorsrecreate one of the oldest wedding traditions to date with ox-drawn carts and a 90-minute procession down the windy mountainous roads to St. Antonio di Li Colti.

Traditionally the groom gets the pleasure of the ox-drawn cart while the women walk beside. Today however, times have changed and the women are quickly whisked away to the ‘women’s house’ in St. Antonio for their upcoming nuptials and the groom takes the 90-minute ride in the ox-cart, along with the procession of horses and guests.

Participants come from all over Northern Sardinia to take part in this day long wedding festival. Traditional costumes are donned by men and women; some costumes dating back one hundred years.

The Groom, Bride, Sister of the Bride and Mother of the Bride.

Traditional dress from Samugheo

The church in St. Antonio is decorated with traditional wedding flowers and cloth. Young children dressed in their towns traditional costume wait patiently for the festivities to begin.

Traditional hand-woven baskets are put on display.

Local towns people busy themselves preparing the feast. Zuppa Gallurese is on the menu for this wedding feast. Zuppa Gallurese is made with sheep meat, slow cooked tomato sauce, flat bread, grated cheese and parsley.

The beginning stage of Zuppa Gallurese

Once the procession arrives at the church, traditional songs are carried out and the bride and groom are united as one.

I missed the wedding ceremony in the church as I hitched a ride back into town, it was a fabulous morning.

Seems so odd that the traditions have stood the test of time…
The big tradition in Shanghai is firecrackers and lots of them. They light them off to ward off evil spirts in front of the couples home and then the car will drive up and let them out. I have seen this a lot in the apartment complex where we live. I have yet to go to a traditional Chinese Wedding. Although we all receive “gifts”. Whenever someone is married they give small tokens to everyone at work. For weddings it is often a cute little box filled with chocolates (like the favours we pass out at weddings).

Ahem … I actually didn’t walk the 90 minutes from point A to B. These photos are from the beginning and middle part of the festival. I hadn’t planned on staying for the feast as I don’t like Zuppa Gallurese! 😉

Jennifer Avventura is a travel writer specializing in the Sardinia, Italy market since 2010 with work featured in D.K Eyewitness Sardinia 2015, International Living 2012, and small publications throughout Europe and Canada.

This blog is to share with the world the raw, natural and bewildering island she now calls home – Sardinia or Sardegna. With random posts on life, culture, traditions, recipes, festivals, and of course, the incredible coastline.

Follow My Sardinian Life

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.